Feed water regulator



Feb. 4, 1936. l W L. HUNTER 2,029,321

'FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Jan. 6, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l Feb 4, 1936. w. 1 HUNTER 4 FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Jan. 6, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 i il?. .Z

Feb. 4,1936. w. L. HUNTER FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Jan. 6, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 lill Il! Iliff II/I Fiied Jan. e, 19:54

5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 4, 1936. w. L. HUNTER 2,029,321

FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Jan. e, 1934 5 sheets-sheet 5 f/v VEN raf? L Hun/er :UNITED .STATES PATENT OFFICE FEED WATER REGULATOR William L. Hunter, Erie, Pa., assignor toNorthern Equipment Company, Erie, Pa., a corporation Application January 6, 1934, Serial No. 705,519

13 Claims.

This'invention relates to apparatus for feeding water to boilers, and it has for its object pro-- viding automatic means for feeding the water which are responsive -to the operation of the boiler, and also providing manual means which may be operated in place of the automatic means when desired for any reason. A particular feature of the invention is theprovision of a feedwater `valve which is common to lboth the automatic vand the manual means, and for providing additional means for operatively connecting the manual means to the valve and at the same time rendering inoperative the automatic means.

Other `objects of the invention will be apparent from a consideration of the accompanying drawings and the following description thereof.

Of Athe drawings, Fig. 'l is an elevation of a boiler system which embodies features of my `invention; Fig. 2 is an .elevation much enlarged and partlyin section of the feed-water valve of the system and a portion of the operating means therefor; Fig. 3 is a similar elevation at 90 to Fig. 2,' Fig. 4 is a further enlarged elevation of Y the manual operating means; Fig. 5 is a sectional View along .the line '5 5 of Fig. 4; Figs. 6 and 7 are Asectional views .along the line 6-6 of Fig.

4', Fig. `6 showing the manual means operative and Fig. '7` showing the manual means inoperative; Fig. 8 is .an elevation corresponding to Fig.

2 o'f-,a modified form of apparatus; and Fig. '9 is aY plan View of the apparatus .shown in Fig. 8.

In the operation -of boilers, it is usual to .pro- Videa feed-water regulator which is responsive r tothe Yoperation of the boiler for operating the feed-water valve. In `certain cases, however, particularly in the operation of boilers on vessels, it becomes necessary or desirable at times to feed the water tothe boiler manually and perhaps to renderinoperati-ye the feed-water regulator. The present v invention provides both automatic Vand manual .means .for feeding water to the boiler, and it Yis particularly directed Ytowards the use of a `single feed-water valve whichV may be operated Aby Y either `the manual or the automatic means, and-when so operated the other means is inoperative. A Y Y fAny typeof automatic means .may be used for operating the feed water valve, such as any of the ordinary feed-water regulators; but I prefer forv the purpose of illustrating this invention the thermostatic type of feed-water regulator which is gin common use and whichconsists of a tube Ill which is operatively connected to the boiler 55 Il .above and below the normal water level therein. This connection may be made by means of pipes I2 and I3 connected respectfully to the ends of the tube .and to the boiler vabove and below the normal water level therein. A feedwater valve I4 is providedand which is operative- 5 ly connected to the thermostatic tube in any suitable manner. In this case I provide a lever I5 connected to .the tube and .its frame and an arm lr6 connected to the Valve and a link Il connecting the two members I5 and I6. Asis well 10 understood, in such a case, :as the water in the boiler rises the tube will contract and the valve will be closed more, or when the water in the boiler sinks .below a predetermined level the tube will expand andthe connecting means `will open 15 more the valve.

I provide `also manual means for `operating the valve I4. While variations in such means may be made, yet I prefer for the purpose a rod 2U, having an operating handle 2l, which is operatively connected to the valve -in any suitable manner, preferably by means of the arm I6, so that the valve may be manually operated by the rod 20 so as to open or close more the valve as maybe desired. 25

In order to prevent the manual operating means from interfering with the automatic means, or to prevent the automatic means from interfering with the manual means when the valve is to be manually operated, I prefer to provide the link -I1 with tension means which will yield more or less as the arm I6 is pulled downwardly. I prefer for this means the casing 22 (Fig. 2) in whichis slidably mounted arod 23. The casing is pivoted to the arm I6 and the rod is pivoted to the lever I5 directly or indirectly. A spring 24, positioned between the upper end of the casing and an enlargement 25 on the rod, provides yielding Vmeans so that the arm I6 may be forced downwardly without affecting the lever In order to provide for moving the arm I6 upwardly when the apparatus is `manually operated, any suitable means may be used. For this purpose I prefer to provide a vflexible joint 26 which will allow the connecting link to move up more or less as the arm I6 is operated upwardly, without interfering with the lever I5. To insure this non-interference, a slot 2l `may be provided which allows the pivot of the joint to play freely upwardly as the arm I 6 is elevated manually. Another means for allowing the arm I6 to be elevated manually is to kslidably mount the tube AI0 in a frame 30 so that when the arm of the :55

lever |5 is moved upwardly the tube will -slide to the right in the frame, as the tube is mounted for tension only by means of the lock nuts 3| which prevent movement of the tube to the left beyond a predetermined position.

The means which I provide for manually operating the valve comprises, in addition to the rod 2E, a worm 32 (Fig. 4) mounted on the rod which meshes at all times with the gear wheel 33.V The wheel is arranged to be connected to a shaft 34 which is rotatably mounted in the casing 31 and is operatively connected, by means of an arm 35 and a link 36, to the arm I6. So that when the rod 2|] is rotated in one direction, the arm 35 'will be elevated to elevate the arm |6 .and will close l more the valve; and when the rod 20 is rotated in the other direction, the arm 35 will be lowered to close more the valve.

With this arrangement, however, it is desirable to provide means for disconnecting the wheel 33 from the arm 35, Vso that when the valve is to be operated automatically. there will be no interference by the wheel 33 andthe worm 32 with the operation of the feed-water regulator. For this purpose I provide a clutch which comprises a disk 38 fixed to the shaft 34 and arranged to be locked to the wheel 33 whenever desired for manual operation, and to be releasedtherefrom when the manual means is to be inoperative. Tov accomplish this I mount the shaft 34 slidably in the casing 31 and provide a'rod 40 for operating the clutch. Any suitable clutch and operating means therefor may be used, but I prefer for the purpose a clutch which comprises a roughened surface 4| which is adapted tocoact with a similar surface 42 on the gear wheel 33. f

Whenthese two surfaces are thrown together, the clutch will be operative and when they are separated the clutch will be inoperative. To force the surfaces together, I provide an eccentric pin 43 ixed to the upper end of the rod 40. The pin is adapted to be operated in yan oval opening 44 in a member 45 fixed to the rod 46. The rod 46 is rotatably but non-slidably mounted in the shaft 34, preferably, as indicated, by means of a nut 41 on the end of the rod. When the rod 40 is rotated to a certain position, the pin will be in the position indicated by the Figs. 5 and 6, and the clutch members will be closed, and when the rod 40 is rotatedthrough 180 the pin will be in the position indicated in Fig. 7, and the clutch members will be separated. A considera- Y tion of Figs. 6 and 7 will show 'that when the clutchmembers are separated the shaft 34, together with the arm 35 and the bearings 50 and 5| and the disk 38 will be forced downwardly; and these members will all be forced upwardly when the clutch is closed. The clutch may be locked in either its closed or its open position by means of a pin 48 in the slot 43.

It will thus be seen that I have provided both automatic and manual means for operating the same feed-water valve. In order to render the automaticmeans inoperative, it is necessary only to rotate the rod 40, by means of the arm 2|, through 180 from the normal operating position. The valve may then be operated manually entirely independently of the automatic means so as to entirely open or close the valve, or to position it wherever desired. When it is desired to return to-automatic operation, it is necessary only to rotate the rod through 180 and the manual nently affected by the manual operation of the valve.A When the clutch is separated, if the arm I6 has been elevated by the manual means above the normal operating position,v the arm will at once be pulled downwardly by the spring 52 to the proper position for automatic operation. This spring will force the link connecting the arm |6 and the lever l5 to the normal operating positions, and if the tube I0 has been forced to the right, it will be pulled to the left until stopped by the nuts 3 As a consequence the tube will take upits work exactly the same as if it had not been interfered with by the manual operation, positioning the feed-water valve so as to feed water according to the needs las indicated by the water level in the boiler. downwardly beyond Vthe normal position, when the clutch is released the spring 24 will at once force the arm I6 up to the proper normal position so that the automatic means will then control the flow of water to the boiler exactly as if it hadnot been rendered inoperative at all. v

The use of manual operating means for controlling the valve may `be desirable for many reasons; for instance, if the water in the boiler should inadvertently rise too high or sink too low. The operator will then manually operate the feed to the boiler until the level becomes normal. If the automatic means becomes inoperative for any reason, the operator can feed with the manual means so long as may be necessary.

A further feature of the means which I hav illustrated comprises a valve 51 which is mounted in the casing of the feed-water valve. This valve may be seated on a seat 58, and may-be operated Iby any means such as a rod 59'and Va wheel 6|).V 'I'his provides a stop-and-check valve for any emergency lin a very simple manner, asl the same casing is used for both valves and the expense and room required for an additional outside valve is avoided. Obviously by the use of this valve both the automatic and the manual operating means may be very quickly rendered entirely inoperative; and `furthermore thisV valve may be used to vary more or less the operation yof the feed-water valve by providing an adjustable restriction from the valve to the boiler in the connecting passageway.

The particular type of feed-water valve which maybe used in connection with my invention is not material, but I prefer to use a Valve which is arranged so as to very sensitively and suitably control the flow of water to the boiler in accord-` ance with the needs thereof. Ihis valve preferably comprises a tube'6| in which is` slidably mounted a plunger 62. 'I'he tube is xed to the If the arm I6 has been pulled diaphragm 63 in the valve casing and the plunger v 62 is xed, by means of a rod 64 to the arm 65. This arm is fixed to the arm I6 by means of a rod 66, in an ordinary manner. As is well known, a valve of this nature is much better adapted to properly proportion the water feed than is anyY ordinary manually operated valve, and by controlling this valve by manual means the same effectiveness is arrived at as is the case when the valve is controlled automatically,VV subject to the uncertainties of ordinary manual control. Although I have illustrated and described the valve 51 in connection with the feed-water valve, it will be understood that this valve 51 is not a necessary part'of my entire invention, and this valve may be dispensed with. Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the mechanism and the feed-water valve without the stop-and-check valve 51. In this case the operating mechanism is substantially the same as has been herein described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3, and a detailed description thereof is unnecessary.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for feeding Water to boilers, comprising a feed-water valve, means responsive to the operation of the boiler for operating the valve, manual means for positioning the valve Without any interference by the responsive means.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said responsive means being arranged to be entirely inoperative When said manual means are operative.

3. Apparatus for feeding Water to boilers, comprising a feed-Water valve, manual means for operating said valve according to Water needs of the boiler, means for rendering inoperative said means, and automatic means for operating the valve when said manual means are inoperative.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and additional means for varying the passageway through the casing of the valve.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, and means mounted in the casing of the valve for rendering the responsive and the manual means inoperative.

6. Apparatus for feeding water to boilers, comprising a feed-Water valve, means responsive to the operation of the boiler operatively connected with the valve, manual means4 for operating the valve, and clutch means for operatively connecting the manual means to the valve.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, the valve comprising an operating member, and the responsive means and the clutch means each being successively operatively connected to said operating member.

8. Apparatus for feeding water to boilers, comprising a feed-water valve having an operating member, automatic means and manual means for operating the valve, yielding means for connecting the automatic means to the operating member, and clutch means for connecting the manual means to the member.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, and yielding means tending to force the valve to the open position.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the relation of the responsive means to the valve is unchanged by the operation of the manual means.

1l. Apparatus for feeding W-ater to boilers comprising a valve manual means and also means responsive to the operation of the boiler, and means for successively connecting the manual means and the responsive means to the valve.

12. Apparatus for'feeding Water to boilers, comprising means responsive to the operation of the boiler, a feed Water valve, means for operatively connecting said responsive means to the boiler, means for rendering inoperative said operatively connecting means, and manual means for operating said said Valve when said operatively connecting means are rendered inoperative.

13. Apparatus for feeding Water to boilers comprising a feed Water valve, boiler responsive means for operating said valve, manual means, normally inoperative, for operating said valve, and means for rendering operative said manual means and rendering inoperative said responsive means.

WILLIAM L. HUNTER. 

